Wild bees are experiencing population declines globally. Despite urbanisation replacing habitat and forage with synthetic materials, urban residential gardens have the potential to become pollinator hotspots, increasing bee diversity and abundance. We explored public knowledge and attitudes towards bees, and ‘bee-friendly’ interventions (BFIs) conducted by urban residents. We reviewed the motivations and barriers which influence or prevent this, using the town of Woking, England, as a case study. An online questionnaire was distributed in 2023 to residents with gardens or balconies. Results from 286 surveys showed 98.3% of respondents performed ≥ 1 BFI and the most common action was planting “pollinator-friendly” plants (75.9%). Sentiment towards bees positively correlated to the number of BFIs performed, and 94.8% of respondents felt positively about bees. Most participants indicated altruistic motivations behind their performance of BFIs.
Implications for insect conservation: Though the public are altruistically motivated to undertake conservation for wild bees, and most are performing at least one BFI, lack of knowledge and understanding is the biggest barrier preventing conservation action. Governments, policymakers, and plant retailers should direct citizens to wild bee conservation organisations to engage and inform the public about bee ecology and improve habitat provision within neighbourhoods.
